Vikings sell out season finale

Sunday’s Vikings game against the Bears -- the season-ending finale -- is officially a sellout. The team says that means it’ll be shown on local TV, avoiding a blackout. The Vikings have now sold out 144 consecutive games at the Metrodome.

Sunday’s Vikings game against the Bears -- the season-ending finale -- is officially a sellout. The team says that means it’ll be shown on local TV, avoiding a blackout. The Vikings have now sold out 144 consecutive games at the Metrodome.

If you’re not doing anything Sunday at noon, the Vikings say they have a game -- and you can watch it on television. Team officials confirmed today that the New Orleans game is a sellout, again avoiding a local TV blackout.

The Minnesota Vikings say they have played their last game in the Metrodome under the current 30-year-old lease. It officially expires February 1. The team now considers itself homeless without legislation to help fund a new stadium. Lawmakers begin the 2012 legislative session on January 24. The Vikings (3-13) lost the season finale to the Bears, 17-13, matching the worst record in franchise history first set in 1984.

Two home games remain on the 2011 Vikings home schedule: New Orleans and Chicago. The Vikings say thousands of tickets are available for each contest -- and all must be sold if those games are to be shown on local TV.

Approximately 3,500 tickets are still available for Sunday's game at Mall-of-America Field between the Vikings and Saints, according to Vikings vice president of sales/marketing Steve LaCroix. The tickets need to be sold by noon Thursday to avoid the first local television blackout since 1997.

They might be 2-7, with no hope of the playoffs this year, but the Vikings have sold out another game at Mall of America Field. The team says that means Sunday’s contest against Oakland will be televised locally. It’s a noon start against the 5-4 Raiders.